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Nikolai Lantsov
Nikolai Lantsov is a major supporting character who appears first in Siege and Storm. He is the second son of the King of Ravka, and spends many years undercover, taking on jobs and hobbies. He is first introduced in the series as Sturmhond, a powerful commander, and soon after tells Alina and Mal who he truly is. Appearance and Personality When he first appears, Alina describes Sturmhond as a tall boy, a few years older than her, who looks ‘too young to be the captain of anything’. He is also described as having red hair, muddy green eyes, and a badly broken nose, though Alina thinks that there is something strange about his face that she cannot place. When he reveals himself to be Nikolai, his hair turns golden blond, his eyes hazel, and his deformity fixed. Sturmhond is seen as a strong leader by his crew; he is able to retain their loyalty without resorting to the kind of threats and plays of power that Alina has seen the Darkling employ, and it is said that he ‘does things his own way’, implying that he abides by his own rules rather than convention. He is shown to be proficient with a number of weapons and is always seen to be bearing an assortment of weapons including a brace of pistols, several knives and a sword. He seems to have a particular fondness for the sword, even being willing to instruct Mal in the use of it. He tends to dress with a flamboyant style, usually wearing a bright teal frock coat that Alina thinks would be more at home in a ballroom than on a ship’s deck, and when Alina and Mal dine with him, he shows a preference for fine cooking – the ship’s crew includes a chef employed for this purpose. In conversation he is jovial and intentionally light-hearted, though when he is challenged he betrays a much harder edge. Alina and Mal are impressed by Nikolai’s ability to appeal to the people around them and present them with the face that they want to see. During this time he shows himself to be socially intelligent, and willing to do whatever he can to manipulate public opinion into supporting him. History As the Darkling lived at Court, he would have been familiar with Nikolai during his childhood. Although Nikolai had not been home since he was 14 years old, he couldn’t take the risk that the Darkling or one of his Grisha might recognise him, and so Tolya had tailored his face. He had grown up frustrated by life at Court, and describes himself as having difficulty with keeping still. Rather than do his military service as an officer, as was usual for the Royal family, he insisted on serving in the infantry as an ordinary Ravkan, and earned his final rank of Major on merit. When his service ended, he left Ravka in order to apprentice with a shipwright and a gunsmith, excelling in both professions. This led him to begin his life as Sturmhond, taking on that alias because he quickly realised that on the sea, a prince would be more valuable as a hostage than a captain. He therefore concealed his real identity from all but his most trusted crewmembers – Tolya, Tamar, and the other Grisha who had come with him on the Hummingbird. He found that as Sturmhond, he was able to amass resources and mount offences that were not possible for the Ravkan army, and that he had done more to support Ravka’s war effort as a privateer than he ever had as a soldier. However, leading this life had meant that he was at sea when the Darkling made his attempt on the throne, and now his father the King’s health is failing. Siege and Storm Source: http://sturmhond.dreamwidth.org/1843.html Nikolai is first introduced as an infamous privateer known as Sturmhond, a young captain commanding his own personal arsenal of ships which he uses to aid the war effort of his native Ravka. He and his crew have been hired by The Darkling to transport the him and a group of his Grisha through the icy seas in their hunt for a supposedly mythical dragon which the Darkling believes to be real. The Darkling has at this point captured Alina and her partner Mal, and they are held prisoner aboard Sturmhond’s ship. Sturmhond refuses to listen to Alina’s entreaty to help her against the Darkling, but opposes the Darkling’s mistreatment of Alina. Just as Rusalye the dragon has been harpooned, Sturmhond surprisedly leads his crew in a revolt against the Darkling, fleeing with Alina and Mal, and shooting the Darkling in the process. Sturmhond reveals that he had not been working for the Darkling and was instead working for a higher bidder for Ravka and convinces Alina to come with him, befriending her and Mal. When the ship nears shore, the group is found by members of the Ravkan First Army. Sturmhond takes off his coat to reveal he is wearing a military uniform beneath it, and he introduces himself – not as Sturmhond, but as Nikolai Lantsov, the second son of the Ravkan King and therefore a Prince. After a startled Alina punches him, Nikolai takes control of the situation and convinces the soldiers to bring her and Mal to their camp as guests rather than prisoners. Once there, he enters their tent and explains himself. Nikolai reveals his ambition to return home and become his father’s heir. He believes that his older brother, who is more concerned with horses and hunting than with politics, will step aside. Nikolai asks Alina to return with him to Ravka and help him to defeat the Darkling. He also proposes marriage to her, suggesting that such an alliance would make both of them stronger, and allow them to unite the First Army and the Grisha against the Darkling. He insists that he’s talking about a political alliance and not a love match, but Alina refuses, and Mal grow a resentment towards Nikolai. However, She agrees to support Nikolai’s claim if he will support her in taking the Darkling’s place as leader of the Grisha. A surprised Nikolai considers it, and finally agrees. It is rumoured that he is a bastard, born from an affair between the Queen and an unknown man, and if this were true he would have no legitimate claim to the throne at all. Nikolai is as aware of these claims as anyone else. He publicly gives no credence to them and denies them entirely. Privately, he tells Alina that he is ‘probably a bastard’, though he insists that it doesn’t change his ambition. He wants to fix what’s wrong with his family’s rule. When they arrive at court, Nikolai reveals to his parents that he is Sturmhond. Alina is put in charge of the Grisha (the Second Army), just as she had wanted, and Mal is installed as her head guard. Tolya and Tamar, the twins from Sturmhond’s ship, make up the rest of her guard, and she takes over the Darkling’s old rooms while Nikolai sets himself up at Court. Defenses are set up and plans are made to protect the palace from a potential Darkling attack. Despite this, Nikolai also begins to rebuild the Hummingbird. He names the new ship the Kingfisher, and tells Alina that he intends to retain it as an escape vessel, in the event that their defences are overcome. He asks her to keep it secret, since he understands that wider knowledge of this would impact on morale. Nikolai comes into conflict with his older brother Vasily. The elder prince recognises his ambition to gain the throne and proves himself to be far less willing to give up his place as heir than Nikolai had thought. Plans are cut short during Nikolai’s birthday celebrations. Vasily arrives, seeming worryingly pleased with himself, and eventually reveals what he imagines to be a great victory over Nikolai – he has been negotiating with the Fjerdans, one of Ravka’s enemies. He has arranged a trade agreement, wherein some of the security stations along Ravka’s border roads will be relaxed to allow traders to move freely. Nikolai reacts with horror, saying that those security outposts had been serving as an early warning system. He says that Vasily has been played, and that the arrangement he has made will provide the Darkling with a direct route to the capital. Vasily scoffs at this, but Nikolai asks how long ago the agreement was reached. He realises that with all of his family gathered together for his birthday, they have provided the perfect opportunity for the Darkling to strike. He immediately wants to evacuate. His fears are proved true when, even as they are still arguing about this, the room is invaded by the Darkling’s nichevo’ya. All the plans that had been made to fight the Darkling and make a stand against him are brought to nought. Vasily is killed instantly, when one of the nichevo’ya tears off his arm and then rips into him. Nikolai the soldier takes over. He and Alina rush his parents out of the throne room. Nikolai goes straight for the Kingfisher, saying that he has to get his parents out, but Alina refuses to go with him. Her duty is to the Grisha, and although it’s clear that the Darkling’s forces are already overrunning them all, she goes back to the Little Palace. Before she leaves, she asks Nikolai to take Baghra – her old trainer, and the Darkling’s mother – with him, and he agrees. As Alina leaves, her last view of Nikolai is him standing there. She does not know whether or not he has managed to escape the palace or what his fate might be. Relationships Alina Starkov The developing relationship between Alina and Nikolai becomes a theme as they arrive at Court. Their allegiance develops quickly, with Nikolai first revealing to his parents that he is Sturmhond, and then supporting Alina and Mal as they face the King. Alina is put in charge of the Grisha (the Second Army), just as she had wanted, and Mal is installed as her head guard. Tolya and Tamar, the twins from Sturmhond’s ship, make up the rest of her guard, and she takes over the Darkling’s old rooms while Nikolai sets himself up at Court. Alina and Nikolai present themselves as a united front, attending meetings together. Vasily proposes marriage to Alina just as his brother had done. She refuses any kind of familiarity with him, and as time goes on she starts to view Nikolai more kindly. Though she acknowledges that it can be hard to trust him since it’s not clear whether he is ever really being himself or simply wearing whatever mask he thinks she wants to see, she spends more and more time talking with him. For his part, Nikolai appears to become more vulnerable around her than around anyone else. Eventually, he even seems to become willing to talk about personal matters with her. He talks again about the rumours that he is a bastard, admitting to Alina that he has heard those rumours all his life and he is perhaps not so unaffected by it as he may seem. He makes reference to his childhood nickname, Sobachka, which means ‘puppy’, and says that his mother had refused to call him that because she thought it made him sound like a mongrel. Alina, who had been raised as an orphan, connects with him over this since she remembers being called many names herself. She begins to get angry when she hears people questioning his birth, even when they are strangers, to the extent that Mal furiously asks her why she’s so quick to defend Nikolai. Nikolai has risen in Alina’s esteem. In this moment she seems to be not only his ally, but his friend. At the same time, Alina’s relationship with Mal – in theory still her romantic partner – has been deteriorating. Mal is shown to dislike the Little Palace and to have reservations over how powerful Alina is becoming and whether it is changing her. Alina, who has some doubts over this herself, feels a distance growing between her and Mal, and she is also suffering due to her continued ‘visions’ of the Darkling. She seems in general to be more at ease in Nikolai’s company. As his birthday approaches, he even comes close to kissing her, telling her that he wants to but will not until he’s sure she’s not just trying to forget Mal. Ruin and Rising (UNDER CONSTRUCTION) Memorable Quotes Siege and Storm *"When people say impossible, they usually mean improbable." *"Anything worth doing starts as a bad idea." *"Princes bleed just like other men. They just do it in better clothes."